10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO VIENNA

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This guide for travel to ViennaIt will help you prepare a trip to one of the most beautiful and musical cities in all of Europe, which we are sure will surprise you.
Imperial capital of large avenues and historic buildings, has in its impressive palaces, located among the most beautiful in the world, one of the main tourist attractions. In addition to visiting these huge complexes, Vienna also allows you to stroll through its cared for parks, visit one of its many museums, enjoy an old amusement park and devour a delicious sacher cake, in one of its famous cafes.

Based on the three days we spent in the city during our trip to Austria, we have made this list of what we think are the 10 essential tips for traveling to Vienna.We start!

1. What is the best time?

The best time to travel to Vienna is in spring and autumn, when the temperature is pleasant and the prices are more affordable than in summer and holidays. If you travel in summer you can surely enjoy a better time but you will also have to share the city with thousands of tourists and pay a higher price, especially in accommodation. A good option if you have to travel during the high season, is to get up very early and enter the most tourist places such as the palaces first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon, to avoid the busiest times of the day.
Winter is a good time if you want to enjoy the Christmas markets of the city, although you will have to go warm as temperatures tend to fall below 0 degrees.

2. Entry requirements and travel insurance

Austria is a member state of the European Union, so if you are Spanish you can enter the country with only your ID or passport, without a visa. If you are from another country you can check the official website of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or your country, to see what are the necessary entry requirements.
One of the best tips for traveling to Vienna is to take the European Health Card with you and if you don't have it, have the best travel insurance possible. Keep in mind that even if you have this card that covers most medical expenses, there are cases that are not included as repatriation.

We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

3. How to go from Vienna airport to downtown?

The Vienna International Airport or Schwechat, located 18 kilometers southeast of the city, is well connected to the city center by public and private transport, so the transfer time will be very short.
From the two terminals of the airport, you can walk from one to the other, you have these transport options:

Train: You have the City Airport Train (CAT) that links to the Wien Mitte station located near the center in 16 minutes for 12 euros. Another cheaper train service for the transfer is the Schnellbahn S7 which takes 25 minutes and costs 4 euros.
Bus: the VAL 2 bus line Vienna Airport Lines will leave you in the square of Morzinplatz, located less than 10 minutes walk from the center, in just 20 minutes for 8 euros. This company has two other lines that cover a large part of the city. Another option is to take the bus of the Airliner company that leaves you in 15 minutes at the bus station and from there you can connect to the center with metro line 3.
Direct transfer to the hotel: A driver will wait for you at the exit of the terminal and will take you directly to the door of your hotel. You can book it here.
Cab: The price of a taxi to a hotel located in the center is around 35 euros.

In this post you can find more information on how to go from Vienna airport to downtown.

4. The best accommodation in Vienna

If you go to travel to Vienna In high season, it is highly recommended to find good prices and available places, reserve the accommodation several months in advance.
The best area to stay, if you have a few days, is the center or Innere Stadt, which will allow you to reach most tourist attractions in a short time. If prices in Innere Stadt are too high for your budget you can opt for the Wieden district, located near Belvedere Palace and the Central Station or look in the Leopoldstadt area, located near the Prater.
We were staying at Hotel Capricorn, near the Schwedenplatz metro stop and an 8-minute walk from St. Stephen's Cathedral, which has an excellent location and has a great breakfast, friendly staff and large, clean rooms.
If you want to stay in another hotel or another part of the city you can search here for the best Vienna hotels at the best price.
For more information on the best hotels and neighborhoods we recommend you check this post of where to stay in Vienna.

Vienna center

5. Transportation when traveling to Vienna

To the travel to Vienna you have to be clear that you will not have any problem to move around the city and visit the farthest places such as Schönbrunn Palace, having an efficient and extensive metro network. Among the most useful metro lines in the city are the U1 that connects with the Prater, the U2 to move around the center and the U4 that reaches the Schönbrunn Palace.
Another means of transport very comfortable and worth taking at least once, is the tram, which has more than 30 lines. We recommend taking line 1, 2 and the Vienna Ring Tram, a tourist tram that runs through Ringstrasse, a circular avenue of more than 5 kilometers that passes through many of the essential places to visit in Vienna.
The bus is only recommended at dawn, when there is no metro and tram service.
The price of the single metro, tram and bus ticket is 2.40 euros, the one-day ticket costs 8 euros, the two-day ticket costs 14 euros and the 3-day ticket costs 17 euros.

In Vienna you will see that horse-drawn car rides are very common, we are a means of transport that we do not recommend when considering animal exploitation.

Ringstrasse

6. Places to visit in the city

Prior to travel to Vienna It is useful to look at this list of the 50 best things to do in Vienna to plan all the experiences you want to enjoy while optimizing time.
If you are going to visit most of the city's tourist attractions and want to save money and time, our first recommendation is to book the Vienna Pass, a card with which you will have free admission to more than 60 attractions and you will skip the line, something highly recommended especially in the most tourist seasons.
Some of the places we consider essential on a trip to Vienna are the magnificent Schönbrunn Palace with its incredible gardens, the huge Parliament and Town Hall, the Hofburg Palace in which the Austrian National Library and the Belvedere Palace stand out, where you can see great masterpieces like "The kiss" by Gustav Klimt.
In addition to these impressive palaces, Vienna has other wonders such as the relaxing Stadtpark, St. Stephen's Cathedral with a beautiful interior, the world-famous Vienna Opera, the amazing Hundertwasser House and the Prater, the oldest amusement park in the world .

7. What to eat and where?

Another reason for travel to Vienna It is to try their copious dishes of food, always leaving a little room for dessert, in which the famous Sacher chocolate cake is the star.
Some of the most typical dishes of the city are:

Wiener Schnitzel: breaded veal schnitzel.
Würstel: traditional Vienna sausage.
Goulash: typical beef stew seasoned with paprika.
Tafelspitz: boiled beef in a broth, with wine and spices.
Apple strudel: Apple pie.
Tiroler Gröstl: sauteed potatoes, ham and onion.

Among the most recommended restaurants in the city to try all these dishes, which are also found in tourist areas, you have: Purstner, Zum Weissen Rauchfangkehrer, Vinothek W-Einkehr, ef16 Restaurant Weinbar, Stadtboden and the famous Café Sacher, which serve their delicious Cake accompanied by a good coffee.

Eat a Sacher Cake, one of the tips for traveling to Vienna

8. Routes through the city

In order not to miss anything important about Vienna and to spend more time walking through its wide streets full of historic buildings, we recommend you dedicate exclusively to this city for two or 3 full days.
Although the entire center can be explored perfectly on foot or with the Ringstrasse tram, it is necessary to take into account that some essential places such as Schönbrunn Palace, Beldevere Palace and the Prater area, are far from the center and it is You need to use the subway.
For this reason it is important to trace the routes well before travel to Vienna or before leaving the hotel, to make the most of the time.
A good option if it is your first time in the city and you want to know its interesting history is to book this free tour of Vienna Free! or this tour of Vienna that includes Schönbrunn Palace, both with a guide in Spanish.

Based on the time we spent in Vienna we have made these two guides that will help you in planning the daily itineraries, which can vary according to your preferences and the time you have available.

Austrian National Library

9. Tours and excursions

Once you have made all the visits to the city, if you still have extra time, you can complete your trip to Vienna by doing some of the best excursions in Vienna.
These day tours will allow you to visit some of the wonders to see in Austria such as the Danube and Wachau valleys, Salzburg, the forests of Vienna or Hallstatt, one of the most beautiful villages in the world.

To get to all these places the best option is to rent a car, although if you do not want to drive you can use public transport such as the train to reach Salzburg, the boat to travel through the Danube Valley or the bus to the forests of Vienna.
A comfortable and interesting way to visit all these places, learning their history accompanied by a guide in Spanish, is to book one of these excursions:

Book excursion through the valleys of the Danube and Wachau.
Book excursion to Salzburg.
Book excursion to the Vienna Woods.
Book excursion to Hallstatt.

More tours and excursions in Vienna here

Salzburg

10. More tips for traveling to Vienna

Other of the best tips for traveling to Vienna They are:

Remember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot. You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
Usually flights to Vienna International Airport leave quite expensive, so a good way to save money is to buy a flight to Bratislava and there take a bus at the airport, which will take you to Vienna in an hour, for less than 8 euros .
A good option to save time in transport is to book the Vienna tourist bus that stops at the main points of interest in the city, including those furthest from the center.
To tour the entire historical center of Vienna you can rent a bike, being a very friendly city to this means of transport and with a great offer that allows you to have very tight prices.
Remember that the shops are closed on Sundays and the usual restaurant hours are from 11am to 2pm and from 6pm to 10pm.
If you have more time you can make a route through the country and follow this list of essential tips for traveling to Austria.

Schönbrunn Palace

Do you want to make a trip to Vienna?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Vienna here
The best hotels at the best prices in Vienna here
Book the best tours and excursions in / from Vienna in Spanish here
Rent your car in Vienna at the best price here
The best free tours in Vienna for free
How to get from Vienna to Salzburg
How to get from Vienna to Budapest
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here